It's been awhile! I've been busy with my birthday, applying for a new job, school and just... stuff!
I've gone back to Calorie King (again) and started c25k (again). I'm better with the c25k than I am with my calorie intake. I'm up to week 3 day 3 and I'm thinking of entering Run Melbourne at the end of the month and/or the Melbourne Marathon. Not sure about the Run Melbourne. It's so soon and it's 5km. I know that I could walk it if I wanted, but I'm a big fat wimp who currently does a route that's more like 2.5km. Also I'd be going on my own and I'm a big fat wimp.
I got the new job though. I start on Tuesday with the halls of residence at the campus where my Boy and the majority of my friends work. It's going to be nice. I'm not sure if I trust carpooling to get me there on time, but I think I'll try it for the first week and talk to new boss about it. They should be for it, surely, as it's saving them a car space and the environment and all that. If I end up being late with carpooling, I might take the bus in early and run there (if there are lockers so I can shower).
But soon I shall be full time again! Money!! But also, I'm going to be so busy! School on Monday nights and Saturdays plus work Mon-Fri 9-5. *gulp* Sunday will be my only free day. *double gulp* I'm hoping the Boy will step up to the plate a bit more in terms of doing housework, especially the washing. I'm not expecting miracles though and to make sure I have clothes beyond my PJs (which I had to spend the day in the other week) I'm going to splurge per-first pay cheque. Bad, but I think worth it in the initial readjustment phase, particularly since I'm already mostly out of underwear *head desk*
Mostly I'm worried about my school work. The other girls seem to be managing okay while working full time, so I'm sure I can do it but *gulp* I spent 6 hours lining up pleats on the weekend.
Quick review: HERBS Pizza, Koornang Rd, Carnegie.
This place was chosen as we wanted "basic" or "traditional" pizzas (in our opinion anyway) and they're walking distance. We got a BBQ chicken (which wasn't on the menu, they added BBQ sauce for us), a garlic and a margherita (with added bacon, don't ask me, that's what the boys wanted).
Conclusion? Too much sauce. Especially on the BBQ chicken where they seemed to have made their normal pizza then slopped on the bbq sauce. Tasty, but messy. The margherita was better, but still very "wet". The garlic pizza, by contrast was quite good. The Boys found it a little dry, but I liked it that way. Finding one the comes without cheese is also good.
Result: 7/10. Perfectly adequate, but meh.
June 5, 2009
May 20, 2009
My rock cakes
It was my birthday on Friday. I am now a venerable 28 years old. And I'm now eating gluten again for awhile. I've been having little bits in things like marinated tofu for about a fortnight and in honor of birthday I ate much Chinese food. And cake. And toast. And besides my sinuses flaring up (which they do without gluten too) I feel fine.
I went to visit a friend who's working in Albury on Saturday and she is obviously psychic because she bought me a cookbook that most people wouldn't buy the gluten intolerant - The Women's Weekly Classic Cake cook book. The blurry phone picture above is the result of my first try - rock cakes. I remember not liking them as a kid but these were great. Easy and only used stuff we already had except SR flour, which I (obviously) got special. While these were in the oven I also made a basic tea cake, though in a loaf tin as I have little baking gear anymore. It didn't really rise as much as I'd have liked, but as I didn't use an electric beater to cream the butter/sugar/egg combo I probably just didn't aerate it enough. I didn't try it - saving it for tonight.
I'm going to try and be good this gluten round. Every other time I've basically gone psycho and binged on anything gluten containing, the breadier the better. This time I'm trying trying trying to be better. I can't really afford to eat out, so unless I'm at a restaurant which someone else is paying for, I'm not allowed to buy gluten products just because (bread is the exception as it's for the household not just because I can have it). Pasta I think I'll keep gluten free at the moment. My cereal box is still pretty full and I have most of a rice porridge left as well. But once I'm out of muesli I'm going to try some wheat free stuff. Basically if I want it I have to make it. Pastry making will probably come up pretty soon because of that.
My goal is one bit of gluten per day which I completely failed at so far but now birthday celebrations are over I'm trying harder with less temptations around. I had a rock cake for breakfast as I was running late but lunch is entirely GF and dinner is tacos which is naturally GF. I was going to try some tea cake but maybe I'll just steal a bit of The Boy's instead just to see how it turned out.
Other than that I haven't really done much lately. I had one of those lingering cold/flu things for about a week seriously and then another week just sniffling. Led to many early nights and much slothing. School is moving along abruptly suddenly after many stops and starts. Couture finally has something of a rhythm which is good. I'm feeling happier about my design and I have had my fabric professionally pleated. I haven't looked at it because it's in a big roll of paper. I'm waiting for school on Saturday to look. I just hope that there's enough! Millinery has moved on to straw hats from fur felts. I finished my felt and while I like it, the odds of me wearing it around are pretty slim. Not only because it's basically a top hat but also because it would retail at ~$300. 22 hours of labour in that hat plus ~$100 in materials. Photos to come once it's been marked.
Tonight I'm going to be sewing tissue covers for my last Craftster swap for awhile - broke me does not get to send things all over the world for kicks. Plus, I've got enough other things to make and a newly recovered World of Warcraft habit to fill. I really want to finish a jumper to wear THIS winter but *shrug* I guess time (and RSI) will tell.
I went to visit a friend who's working in Albury on Saturday and she is obviously psychic because she bought me a cookbook that most people wouldn't buy the gluten intolerant - The Women's Weekly Classic Cake cook book. The blurry phone picture above is the result of my first try - rock cakes. I remember not liking them as a kid but these were great. Easy and only used stuff we already had except SR flour, which I (obviously) got special. While these were in the oven I also made a basic tea cake, though in a loaf tin as I have little baking gear anymore. It didn't really rise as much as I'd have liked, but as I didn't use an electric beater to cream the butter/sugar/egg combo I probably just didn't aerate it enough. I didn't try it - saving it for tonight.
I'm going to try and be good this gluten round. Every other time I've basically gone psycho and binged on anything gluten containing, the breadier the better. This time I'm trying trying trying to be better. I can't really afford to eat out, so unless I'm at a restaurant which someone else is paying for, I'm not allowed to buy gluten products just because (bread is the exception as it's for the household not just because I can have it). Pasta I think I'll keep gluten free at the moment. My cereal box is still pretty full and I have most of a rice porridge left as well. But once I'm out of muesli I'm going to try some wheat free stuff. Basically if I want it I have to make it. Pastry making will probably come up pretty soon because of that.
My goal is one bit of gluten per day which I completely failed at so far but now birthday celebrations are over I'm trying harder with less temptations around. I had a rock cake for breakfast as I was running late but lunch is entirely GF and dinner is tacos which is naturally GF. I was going to try some tea cake but maybe I'll just steal a bit of The Boy's instead just to see how it turned out.
Other than that I haven't really done much lately. I had one of those lingering cold/flu things for about a week seriously and then another week just sniffling. Led to many early nights and much slothing. School is moving along abruptly suddenly after many stops and starts. Couture finally has something of a rhythm which is good. I'm feeling happier about my design and I have had my fabric professionally pleated. I haven't looked at it because it's in a big roll of paper. I'm waiting for school on Saturday to look. I just hope that there's enough! Millinery has moved on to straw hats from fur felts. I finished my felt and while I like it, the odds of me wearing it around are pretty slim. Not only because it's basically a top hat but also because it would retail at ~$300. 22 hours of labour in that hat plus ~$100 in materials. Photos to come once it's been marked.
Tonight I'm going to be sewing tissue covers for my last Craftster swap for awhile - broke me does not get to send things all over the world for kicks. Plus, I've got enough other things to make and a newly recovered World of Warcraft habit to fill. I really want to finish a jumper to wear THIS winter but *shrug* I guess time (and RSI) will tell.
April 24, 2009
A picture of me
I was looking at the photos of a party my friends had on the weekend. There were a couple of me (in my new op shop skirt of niceness) and I couldn't look at them. I looked so FAT. Which made me think about food. But what happened next really forced me into action... a friend emailed the one picture I particularly hated and the subject line? "I just found a gorgeous photo of you!"
Oh
My
God.
Action? Fire lit under my large butt? oh my god yes!
I'm back on calorieking and tracking my calories each day. Next week's goal is to put in the recipes that I make alot (like sticky rice) and have accurate numbers for those as I'm sure I'm underestimating them. This week I was mostly concentrating on putting everything on there again and trying to stay below my calorie limit. Which I did, with help from my half hour walk to work and then back again three days a week.
I'm also joining my housemate and his friends on their Sunday morning training regime. The guy who leads it isn't a personal trainer, but is very fit and does much gym. He is helped by a girl who does a personal training session at least twice a week, so we're not doing anything horrifically bad for us. I went last Sunday and my muscles stopped hurting on Wednesday. Bleh! But good bleh I think. Well, I felt all nice and endorphiny after finished at least.
This Sunday will be the test though - cold and hailing the weather report says. And we train on the beach! Yay! I'm hoping we change at least to a part to do it. I don't want to cancel it, I don't want to lose momentum so early into starting, but the beach will be cold and just BAD!
Looking at my food on CK (calorieking) it looks quite strange because I put everything in my bento as lunch when technically I suppose half of it is snacks. Or I'm eating lunch from my 11am miso to my 3pm babybel cheese. But while the bento food looks a little odd, it's usually around 600 calories which is pretty darned good! It's when I get home after work that I run into trouble. I get home at 4, the time I used to get home from school and have a snack. Sure, I just walked for half an hour, I might be a little hungry. But if I snack then, then eat dinner and THEN odds are I'll have a little something after dinner too.
My new plan is to try and drink tea between home and dinner. Preferably herbal, but I'll settle for my usual white tea (it's not THAT many calories and milk is good, calcium and protein and all that) if necessary.
I also need to think about dinner a little more. Last night Boy and I were feeling lazy so we had pasta with pesto and mushrooms. I didn't weigh the pasta out, but I did divide it into three bowls and a container for later so I wouldn't just serve it all up. Perhaps I should have because I was HUNGRY all night despite dessert and even a coffee. Bleh! So lazy dinners definately need some work.
Pictured is an apple cosy I made for a swap on Craftster. I have three active swaps at the moment - I just sent for the Detective swap, am part way through making things for the Fill a Purse swap and am waiting for my partner in the tea/coffee swap. I've never done more than one at a time before. I'm enjoying them. They're helping me fill the free time I have. I really thought that this years couture class would be more full on from the get go, but not yet! We have ANOTHER day off tomorrow because of Anzac Day, so we've only had two classes so far. Which leaves me with two days a week of not much to do really. Hence, swap crafting and dice bags agogo.
I also applied for a couple of new jobs due to me feeling horribly poor. One is full time and I have an interview on Monday. It will be more money than I have ever earned. Ever. Which means I could pay back my savings all the money I've taken out due to moving and other stuff this year so far. I could save for a holiday somewhere overseas and awesome. I could buy CLOTHES as I have none really that fit properly. But what if school suddenly gets busy? What if what if? I think I want it, though I'm going to have to get uber organised if I get it. And The Boy is going to have to start doing some more housework a bit more regularly.
I'm feeling better mentally this week as well. Last night I even went out to a "craft night" which is mostly a hang around and chat night but you can bring knitting or whatever and not feel out of place. It was good. I got to hang with PEOPLE and got to see baby H who is in the "ooo moving colours and strange faces" big eyed stage. Very adorable. Even though I ended up ripping out all of my knitting because of losing count and grrr, it was nice to get out of the house. I spend so much time watching shows I don't like because I'm crafting and like to have something on while the boys are playing World of Warcraft. I was feeling a little crappy about it. But now I'm actively trying to get out and see people. Go me!
This weekend is therefore going to be a reward weekend, despite being very broke due to a HR pay issue (grr). I'm going to buy a new outfit for my interview (yay credit card!) and The Boy is taking me to the movies. The Dice guys are coming to pick up their order, payment to follow sometime next week hopefully. Exercise session on Sunday. But tonight? Tonight is Dr Who night!
Oh
My
God.
Action? Fire lit under my large butt? oh my god yes!
I'm back on calorieking and tracking my calories each day. Next week's goal is to put in the recipes that I make alot (like sticky rice) and have accurate numbers for those as I'm sure I'm underestimating them. This week I was mostly concentrating on putting everything on there again and trying to stay below my calorie limit. Which I did, with help from my half hour walk to work and then back again three days a week.
I'm also joining my housemate and his friends on their Sunday morning training regime. The guy who leads it isn't a personal trainer, but is very fit and does much gym. He is helped by a girl who does a personal training session at least twice a week, so we're not doing anything horrifically bad for us. I went last Sunday and my muscles stopped hurting on Wednesday. Bleh! But good bleh I think. Well, I felt all nice and endorphiny after finished at least.
This Sunday will be the test though - cold and hailing the weather report says. And we train on the beach! Yay! I'm hoping we change at least to a part to do it. I don't want to cancel it, I don't want to lose momentum so early into starting, but the beach will be cold and just BAD!
Looking at my food on CK (calorieking) it looks quite strange because I put everything in my bento as lunch when technically I suppose half of it is snacks. Or I'm eating lunch from my 11am miso to my 3pm babybel cheese. But while the bento food looks a little odd, it's usually around 600 calories which is pretty darned good! It's when I get home after work that I run into trouble. I get home at 4, the time I used to get home from school and have a snack. Sure, I just walked for half an hour, I might be a little hungry. But if I snack then, then eat dinner and THEN odds are I'll have a little something after dinner too.
My new plan is to try and drink tea between home and dinner. Preferably herbal, but I'll settle for my usual white tea (it's not THAT many calories and milk is good, calcium and protein and all that) if necessary.
I also need to think about dinner a little more. Last night Boy and I were feeling lazy so we had pasta with pesto and mushrooms. I didn't weigh the pasta out, but I did divide it into three bowls and a container for later so I wouldn't just serve it all up. Perhaps I should have because I was HUNGRY all night despite dessert and even a coffee. Bleh! So lazy dinners definately need some work.
Pictured is an apple cosy I made for a swap on Craftster. I have three active swaps at the moment - I just sent for the Detective swap, am part way through making things for the Fill a Purse swap and am waiting for my partner in the tea/coffee swap. I've never done more than one at a time before. I'm enjoying them. They're helping me fill the free time I have. I really thought that this years couture class would be more full on from the get go, but not yet! We have ANOTHER day off tomorrow because of Anzac Day, so we've only had two classes so far. Which leaves me with two days a week of not much to do really. Hence, swap crafting and dice bags agogo.
I also applied for a couple of new jobs due to me feeling horribly poor. One is full time and I have an interview on Monday. It will be more money than I have ever earned. Ever. Which means I could pay back my savings all the money I've taken out due to moving and other stuff this year so far. I could save for a holiday somewhere overseas and awesome. I could buy CLOTHES as I have none really that fit properly. But what if school suddenly gets busy? What if what if? I think I want it, though I'm going to have to get uber organised if I get it. And The Boy is going to have to start doing some more housework a bit more regularly.
I'm feeling better mentally this week as well. Last night I even went out to a "craft night" which is mostly a hang around and chat night but you can bring knitting or whatever and not feel out of place. It was good. I got to hang with PEOPLE and got to see baby H who is in the "ooo moving colours and strange faces" big eyed stage. Very adorable. Even though I ended up ripping out all of my knitting because of losing count and grrr, it was nice to get out of the house. I spend so much time watching shows I don't like because I'm crafting and like to have something on while the boys are playing World of Warcraft. I was feeling a little crappy about it. But now I'm actively trying to get out and see people. Go me!
This weekend is therefore going to be a reward weekend, despite being very broke due to a HR pay issue (grr). I'm going to buy a new outfit for my interview (yay credit card!) and The Boy is taking me to the movies. The Dice guys are coming to pick up their order, payment to follow sometime next week hopefully. Exercise session on Sunday. But tonight? Tonight is Dr Who night!
April 22, 2009
Back on the wagon
I've been trying to lose weight for as long as I can remember. I'm going to make another effort at not eating way too much of the badder things like processed foods and eat more veges. So hopefully this will decrease the size of my butt and make my bentos a little more exciting.
Today I logged back on to calorieking.com.au and started tracking my food again. Which is a good thing to combine with my visual lunch tracking on flickr. My flickr photos are showing a definite decrease in veges and variety and an increase in dried fruit and snackysnacks. Bad me!
If you want to help the world through your lunch have a look at this link -> http://www.missionvegan.com/happy-april-giveaway-time/ You might even win a prize! Which is great because a large chunk of why I started bento was to reduce waste in the kitchen.
Today I logged back on to calorieking.com.au and started tracking my food again. Which is a good thing to combine with my visual lunch tracking on flickr. My flickr photos are showing a definite decrease in veges and variety and an increase in dried fruit and snackysnacks. Bad me!
If you want to help the world through your lunch have a look at this link -> http://www.missionvegan.com/happy-april-giveaway-time/ You might even win a prize! Which is great because a large chunk of why I started bento was to reduce waste in the kitchen.
April 17, 2009
Am I 80?
I've been spending my nights very predictably since The Boy and I moved in with Housemate. The boys go and do some sort of WOW raid in the study and I sit on the couch and knit. The last couple of nights I've mixed it up and cut things out to sew - dice bags for an order, hand bags for a Craftster swap. But still, 9/10 evenings are spent with me sitting on the couch watching such high television quality as Bondi Vet, and even at times Neighbours, mostly because I can't be bothered changing the channel between The Simpsons at 6 and NCIS at 8:30.
While I do feel a little boring and am REALLY going to try and DO stuff (or at least watch better shows) I'm feeling quite accomplished! I am making myself a cardigan! I take a bit of string and two pointy sticks and CREATE! The photo is when I just started, I've finished that back section now, and the left front. I'm 3 inches into the right front now. Just that and the sleeves to go! Yay! The pattern is Basic Black which I found on Ravelry and I'm working on it with The Visual Guide to Knitting which is great because it's full of pictures. Sure, many websites can show me how to knit particular stitches, but my internet doesn't reach the couch.
I'm really getting into the 'making from scratch' ideal. My lunch today contains one processed thing, which is the miso for my soup and the chicken marinade. I'm already feeling SO much better after my gluten binge. I'm so much more with the moment!! And being with the moment I can go to a party tonight instead of saying I'm too tired. A party with friends who have bought me snacks so I can join in. One of those snacks? Popcorn. Simple, everyone can have it. My mother is good at making me food when I'm at a family thing, I ate well at Easter lunch. But there was a separate lasagna for me (an entire one, many leftovers!) and it made me feel a little weird. I can eat SO much food but I still get corralled off to one side. No one would even try my lasagna, I'm not sure if it was because it was "mine" or because it was gluten free. Or maybe they were full. Who knows? Yes, many gluten free packaged foods are bad. Dry, crumbly and utterly awful. You know what's good? The nibbles I brought as my part of the lunch. I could eat every bite of the rice crackers with double brie, the dried fruit, the basil pesto chunky dip and the pears wrapped in prosciutto.
If anyone is reading this that ISN'T gluten intolerant and has a friend/family member/work colleague that is, try to include them! Food is such a social activity and while it's nice that you thought of them and bought a packet of cookies or whatever, why not serve sushi instead of sandwiches at that work lunch? Or go to Crust or Pizza Capers for pizza as they can have a gluten free pizza and be part of the group.
In my first review for a long time let me happily say I've found a new place that will deliver me pizza that isn't Crust, whom I haven't gone back to (they may have gluten free bases, but their toppings are labeled ambiguously, or were at the time). PIZZA CAPERS are a Queensland chain that have recently expanded to Victoria and there's one in Malvern somewhere (near Central Park I think). I have no idea where, I just know that a kind friend got their menu in the mail and thought I'd like it. Oh yeah. The bases remind me of the GF burgers at Grill'd, sort of corn like in flavour, which is different than what you'd remember pizza tasting like, but still good. They aren't a crisp pizza though, which makes me sad, but that's the only real flaw that I can see. I particularly like the antipasto pizza.
And finally, the easiest food wanky recipe ever - Pear with Prosciutto:
Slice up pear into thinnish slices, wrap with some prosciutto. Repeat until you're out of ingredients or the plate is full. Eat! I used Buerre Bosch pears at Easter lunch and they were very tasty.
While I do feel a little boring and am REALLY going to try and DO stuff (or at least watch better shows) I'm feeling quite accomplished! I am making myself a cardigan! I take a bit of string and two pointy sticks and CREATE! The photo is when I just started, I've finished that back section now, and the left front. I'm 3 inches into the right front now. Just that and the sleeves to go! Yay! The pattern is Basic Black which I found on Ravelry and I'm working on it with The Visual Guide to Knitting which is great because it's full of pictures. Sure, many websites can show me how to knit particular stitches, but my internet doesn't reach the couch.
I'm really getting into the 'making from scratch' ideal. My lunch today contains one processed thing, which is the miso for my soup and the chicken marinade. I'm already feeling SO much better after my gluten binge. I'm so much more with the moment!! And being with the moment I can go to a party tonight instead of saying I'm too tired. A party with friends who have bought me snacks so I can join in. One of those snacks? Popcorn. Simple, everyone can have it. My mother is good at making me food when I'm at a family thing, I ate well at Easter lunch. But there was a separate lasagna for me (an entire one, many leftovers!) and it made me feel a little weird. I can eat SO much food but I still get corralled off to one side. No one would even try my lasagna, I'm not sure if it was because it was "mine" or because it was gluten free. Or maybe they were full. Who knows? Yes, many gluten free packaged foods are bad. Dry, crumbly and utterly awful. You know what's good? The nibbles I brought as my part of the lunch. I could eat every bite of the rice crackers with double brie, the dried fruit, the basil pesto chunky dip and the pears wrapped in prosciutto.
If anyone is reading this that ISN'T gluten intolerant and has a friend/family member/work colleague that is, try to include them! Food is such a social activity and while it's nice that you thought of them and bought a packet of cookies or whatever, why not serve sushi instead of sandwiches at that work lunch? Or go to Crust or Pizza Capers for pizza as they can have a gluten free pizza and be part of the group.
In my first review for a long time let me happily say I've found a new place that will deliver me pizza that isn't Crust, whom I haven't gone back to (they may have gluten free bases, but their toppings are labeled ambiguously, or were at the time). PIZZA CAPERS are a Queensland chain that have recently expanded to Victoria and there's one in Malvern somewhere (near Central Park I think). I have no idea where, I just know that a kind friend got their menu in the mail and thought I'd like it. Oh yeah. The bases remind me of the GF burgers at Grill'd, sort of corn like in flavour, which is different than what you'd remember pizza tasting like, but still good. They aren't a crisp pizza though, which makes me sad, but that's the only real flaw that I can see. I particularly like the antipasto pizza.
And finally, the easiest food wanky recipe ever - Pear with Prosciutto:
Slice up pear into thinnish slices, wrap with some prosciutto. Repeat until you're out of ingredients or the plate is full. Eat! I used Buerre Bosch pears at Easter lunch and they were very tasty.
April 15, 2009
Experiment failed
I've been quiet lately because I was doing some gluten eating. And it seemed to be going fine! Every so often I would feel the familiar brain woolliness but rarely enough that speculation began about me being sensitive to something else. MSG maybe, or that calcium propinate stuff found in bread. But then BAMN. It hit me. So now I'm in gluten hangover mode. It's not tooo bad, but bad enough that I actually do feel hungover and all I want to do is drink tea and eat fattening things on the couch. Which is different to my usual desires I swear (well, sometimes it is).
So I'm back in the non-gluten diet thing and I'm not overly upset by it. Sure, it was great to eat chinese dumplings and have a pie, but it feels like I had a nice holiday, but am now back home.
The picture for this post was taken last weekend. I put it in because the black bag in it, my bento handbag is no more. Because I SOLD IT! I spent much of my weekend hanging out at Conquest (a roleplaying convention held at Melbourne High) and I sold many dice bags to gamers and the dice company there (Dice by NASM). But I also sold my handbag, the one I was actually using, not once, but TWICE! I have never sold my stuff before and it is such a confidence boost. Maybe a career in making things is a possibility after all. Though not in dice bags, those things are BORING to make en masse.
So I have profit! I think, I didn't really cost things particularly well, especially my time spent making them, but I think I made profit. And I might splurge on a new bento box, just in time for my birthday next month.
It did give me a very busy easter "break" though which has left my pantry a little bare. My bento lunch today was some rice (a mix of brown and white) from the freezer, a 1-egg tamagoyaki (slightly failed, due to a smaller egg I think), some carrot sticks for lunch break eating. For snacks I have some craisins and dried apricots, some nut/seed mix and a mini jelly pudding, a babybel swiss cheese and, my current favourite 11am snack - a miso soup "ball".
The miso ball idea is something from my fav bento site, justbento, and all it is is a teaspoon or so of miso paste along with whatever you like in your miso soup in a little package. I used a silicon muffin cup as it was secure in my box. If it was in a bigger box (or loose I suppose) I'd wrap it into a ball in some glad wrap. I have tofu and spring onion with mine. Yum! A nice, cheap, EASY protein hit that kills off those morning munchies as well as being nice and warming on this windy day. I'm going to try and get a little more adventurous with my miso snack as it'd be a great way to sneak a few more veges into my day and shore up my immune system.
So I'm back in the non-gluten diet thing and I'm not overly upset by it. Sure, it was great to eat chinese dumplings and have a pie, but it feels like I had a nice holiday, but am now back home.
The picture for this post was taken last weekend. I put it in because the black bag in it, my bento handbag is no more. Because I SOLD IT! I spent much of my weekend hanging out at Conquest (a roleplaying convention held at Melbourne High) and I sold many dice bags to gamers and the dice company there (Dice by NASM). But I also sold my handbag, the one I was actually using, not once, but TWICE! I have never sold my stuff before and it is such a confidence boost. Maybe a career in making things is a possibility after all. Though not in dice bags, those things are BORING to make en masse.
So I have profit! I think, I didn't really cost things particularly well, especially my time spent making them, but I think I made profit. And I might splurge on a new bento box, just in time for my birthday next month.
It did give me a very busy easter "break" though which has left my pantry a little bare. My bento lunch today was some rice (a mix of brown and white) from the freezer, a 1-egg tamagoyaki (slightly failed, due to a smaller egg I think), some carrot sticks for lunch break eating. For snacks I have some craisins and dried apricots, some nut/seed mix and a mini jelly pudding, a babybel swiss cheese and, my current favourite 11am snack - a miso soup "ball".
The miso ball idea is something from my fav bento site, justbento, and all it is is a teaspoon or so of miso paste along with whatever you like in your miso soup in a little package. I used a silicon muffin cup as it was secure in my box. If it was in a bigger box (or loose I suppose) I'd wrap it into a ball in some glad wrap. I have tofu and spring onion with mine. Yum! A nice, cheap, EASY protein hit that kills off those morning munchies as well as being nice and warming on this windy day. I'm going to try and get a little more adventurous with my miso snack as it'd be a great way to sneak a few more veges into my day and shore up my immune system.
March 26, 2009
See my hat!
The picture is me making my first felt hat in my millinery class. I was kind of nervous about the class, as it was expensive and to justify it to myself I had to pare down my couture sewing class to part time. Which starts on Saturday so *fingers crossed*
But HATS! I don't care if I never wear this hat (it's also in a mousey colour I've never ever worn because the supplier was waiting on a shipment but I had to get started) because it was FUN! I can block felt good! Whee! Am I too old to be jazzed about getting compliments from teachers? Apparently not!
This past week has had me stressing out about money. Suddenly my credit card is higher than I like, my hat supplies cost me more than I thought they would, The Boy booked as in to see Tim Minchin at the Comedy Festival without asking (though he said he'd pay - which makes me feel pretty crap, but well, I _do_ want to go) and on and on. The bond cheque from the old place went directly onto my credit card which meant new winter clothes (and boots) have to wait. And on and on. So I sat down and played with the budget. And according to it I'm okay. Not great, but fine. I just need to accept that I'm a student again and that means that yes, at the end of the pay cycle I might be down to my last $20.
But despite it being payday and therefore a time to stress less, I've been poking at the internet about being frugal, which I have done in the past and discovered the same things I usually do - I'm already pretty frugal (mostly) and being frugal in America is really different to frugality in Australia in certain respects, especially in the most popular tip - cancel cable tv. Almost all website suggest giving up cable tv to save money. Easy done as I've never had it. The Boy's parents have it as His dad got it free as he installs it. So if I really want to watch 4 hours of cooking shows I can when I go there (and I did that over Christmas. Yay for The River Cottage!)
Most of the other suggestions I was looking at were food related. Eating gluten free can be expensive and, well, I have expensive tastes at times (mmm duck). But since I started thinking more properly with The Boy over the whole gluten free thing I think we've actually started spending less on food in general. Lately our grocery bill has gotten higher (eep) BUT we are feeding The Housemate as well now AND we're not eating out nearly as much (due to people moving away).
Things I think are the big money savers on our food bill:
-Rice - Thanks to bentos and The Boy's love of making curry rice has become our starch of choice and that's pretty cheap. And freezes! which I never realized before (http://lunchinabox.net/2008/06/20/inarizushi-with-toppings/) which is a big help when making lunches quickly.
-Carrots - I've been having carrots almost every day lately in some form or another. Carrot sticks are a good snack, with or without a dip. Stir fry quickly in some tamari, chilli flakes and sesame oil to get kinpira (Just Bento). Tomorrow I'm going to try carrot rice which was on justbento.com a little while back because I have a cold and the vitamins the better IMO.
-Eggs - I used to think I didn't like eggs. They ruined my bacon and toast when I was a kid. I'm an adult now and have rediscovered them. While I avoid buying bread now as GF bread is never the same, full of calories and damn expensive, I'm still trying to eat eggs. They're cheap protein, keep well and are very handy to have in the kitchen. My first bentos often had hardboiled eggs in them. Then I went to tamagoyaki, japanese omelette. Lately I've been eating the quiche mum made for my aunt's birthday party.
-Spices - sesame oil, tamari, chilli, garlic and sesame seeds. These things are staples frequently used nowadays. I never used to be much of a spice girl, I think because I usually baked cakes etc when I was a kid, not "real" cooking. Sick of carrot sticks? Carrot kinpira instead.
Most websites told me that going grocery shopping without a list is a recipe to waste money. You should shop with a list and never deviate from it. Sure, I shop with a list, but not deviate from it? The Boy would fall over. He hates the meal planning mentality frugal websites advocate. It's too locked in for him. Instead we work out how many nights we'll be at home, if there's a night when only one of us is home the one at home eats leftovers (as does Housemate as we do the cooking). Then we consider what meals to make. Sure, this sometimes leaves us with some strange assortments of ingredients and leftovers to work with, but that can lead to taste sensations. White corn tortillas (Diego brand are the only GF tortillas I've been able to find) but nothing to fill them with? What about leftover potato and chickpea curry? OMG were those good!
Does all this rambling end with a point? I guess it's don't be locked in to a "poor," "frugal" or even "gluten free" mentality. Instead, be creative, get out there and experiment with what you have! No chilli? try that strange chilli/capsicum relish someone gave you for Christmas. Google "substitute IngrediantA" for suggestions on what to use instead. Dig in the back of your cupboards for inspiration.
In further food experimenting news, I attempted steamed pork buns. It was a mixed success. I used my staple "bread" mix, Safeway's Freefrom pizza mix. The filling? Pork mince cooked in the last of the strange tamari hoisin sauce I had (which The Boy dislikes so it won't be back).
The steaming didn't really give me a cooked result, still sort of doughy and I couldn't be bothered steaming them more. They'd had 30minutes, I was over it considering I could only cook 4 at a time. So I got out the muffin tin and baked them instead. The steamed then baked ones were a little gluggy tasting. The just baked ones were quite nice. A meat scone kind of taste (not surprisingly). The Boy was underwhelmed. The Housemate consumed with gusto.
But HATS! I don't care if I never wear this hat (it's also in a mousey colour I've never ever worn because the supplier was waiting on a shipment but I had to get started) because it was FUN! I can block felt good! Whee! Am I too old to be jazzed about getting compliments from teachers? Apparently not!
This past week has had me stressing out about money. Suddenly my credit card is higher than I like, my hat supplies cost me more than I thought they would, The Boy booked as in to see Tim Minchin at the Comedy Festival without asking (though he said he'd pay - which makes me feel pretty crap, but well, I _do_ want to go) and on and on. The bond cheque from the old place went directly onto my credit card which meant new winter clothes (and boots) have to wait. And on and on. So I sat down and played with the budget. And according to it I'm okay. Not great, but fine. I just need to accept that I'm a student again and that means that yes, at the end of the pay cycle I might be down to my last $20.
But despite it being payday and therefore a time to stress less, I've been poking at the internet about being frugal, which I have done in the past and discovered the same things I usually do - I'm already pretty frugal (mostly) and being frugal in America is really different to frugality in Australia in certain respects, especially in the most popular tip - cancel cable tv. Almost all website suggest giving up cable tv to save money. Easy done as I've never had it. The Boy's parents have it as His dad got it free as he installs it. So if I really want to watch 4 hours of cooking shows I can when I go there (and I did that over Christmas. Yay for The River Cottage!)
Most of the other suggestions I was looking at were food related. Eating gluten free can be expensive and, well, I have expensive tastes at times (mmm duck). But since I started thinking more properly with The Boy over the whole gluten free thing I think we've actually started spending less on food in general. Lately our grocery bill has gotten higher (eep) BUT we are feeding The Housemate as well now AND we're not eating out nearly as much (due to people moving away).
Things I think are the big money savers on our food bill:
-Rice - Thanks to bentos and The Boy's love of making curry rice has become our starch of choice and that's pretty cheap. And freezes! which I never realized before (http://lunchinabox.net/2008/06/20/inarizushi-with-toppings/) which is a big help when making lunches quickly.
-Carrots - I've been having carrots almost every day lately in some form or another. Carrot sticks are a good snack, with or without a dip. Stir fry quickly in some tamari, chilli flakes and sesame oil to get kinpira (Just Bento). Tomorrow I'm going to try carrot rice which was on justbento.com a little while back because I have a cold and the vitamins the better IMO.
-Eggs - I used to think I didn't like eggs. They ruined my bacon and toast when I was a kid. I'm an adult now and have rediscovered them. While I avoid buying bread now as GF bread is never the same, full of calories and damn expensive, I'm still trying to eat eggs. They're cheap protein, keep well and are very handy to have in the kitchen. My first bentos often had hardboiled eggs in them. Then I went to tamagoyaki, japanese omelette. Lately I've been eating the quiche mum made for my aunt's birthday party.
-Spices - sesame oil, tamari, chilli, garlic and sesame seeds. These things are staples frequently used nowadays. I never used to be much of a spice girl, I think because I usually baked cakes etc when I was a kid, not "real" cooking. Sick of carrot sticks? Carrot kinpira instead.
Most websites told me that going grocery shopping without a list is a recipe to waste money. You should shop with a list and never deviate from it. Sure, I shop with a list, but not deviate from it? The Boy would fall over. He hates the meal planning mentality frugal websites advocate. It's too locked in for him. Instead we work out how many nights we'll be at home, if there's a night when only one of us is home the one at home eats leftovers (as does Housemate as we do the cooking). Then we consider what meals to make. Sure, this sometimes leaves us with some strange assortments of ingredients and leftovers to work with, but that can lead to taste sensations. White corn tortillas (Diego brand are the only GF tortillas I've been able to find) but nothing to fill them with? What about leftover potato and chickpea curry? OMG were those good!
Does all this rambling end with a point? I guess it's don't be locked in to a "poor," "frugal" or even "gluten free" mentality. Instead, be creative, get out there and experiment with what you have! No chilli? try that strange chilli/capsicum relish someone gave you for Christmas. Google "substitute IngrediantA" for suggestions on what to use instead. Dig in the back of your cupboards for inspiration.
In further food experimenting news, I attempted steamed pork buns. It was a mixed success. I used my staple "bread" mix, Safeway's Freefrom pizza mix. The filling? Pork mince cooked in the last of the strange tamari hoisin sauce I had (which The Boy dislikes so it won't be back).
The steaming didn't really give me a cooked result, still sort of doughy and I couldn't be bothered steaming them more. They'd had 30minutes, I was over it considering I could only cook 4 at a time. So I got out the muffin tin and baked them instead. The steamed then baked ones were a little gluggy tasting. The just baked ones were quite nice. A meat scone kind of taste (not surprisingly). The Boy was underwhelmed. The Housemate consumed with gusto.
March 17, 2009
Back again
I have rediscovered knitting. It's very exciting as crocheting really aggravates my RSI. Which means less to do with my hands while watching TV, roleplaying and other activities that lend themselves to munching. Hopefully this helps in getting me smaller!
I've been eating badly lately. Not back on the gluten but just at random times which mean getting really famished and eating toast. Or popcorn for lunch (like yesterday). Eating chocolate cake in bed (last night). So today is a new day (again). I had to go to the dentist (an hour away) at 8am this morning so I packed myself a mini bento to take and eat afterwards. I'm actually eating it now and I'm back at home, but it felt good to be organised. I only took the bottom tier of my bento set, 350ml, which is usually a good representation of the number of calories in the box. I had more sticky rice (really need to get over that!), swiss Baby bel (see previous), mochi (as before) and grapes (again). So nothing very spectacular. But tasty!
I have to go back next week and actually have stuff done and he needs to inject me with stuff, so I might try rice porridge or something then. Nice and bland, mushy and maybe not bad cold.
In crafty related news, I started millinery last night! Yay! Our first hat is a shaped felt and I think I want a noir style reporter hat like Gwyneth Paltrow in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (dull film but great outifts).
Hoping to get back to a routine soon. Changing from working three days (Tues, Thurs, Fri) and school the other two days to school Monday night, working Wed-Fri and then school all Saturday. Two whole days of sleep in during the week! So yes, routine is still being beaten into shape.
I've been eating badly lately. Not back on the gluten but just at random times which mean getting really famished and eating toast. Or popcorn for lunch (like yesterday). Eating chocolate cake in bed (last night). So today is a new day (again). I had to go to the dentist (an hour away) at 8am this morning so I packed myself a mini bento to take and eat afterwards. I'm actually eating it now and I'm back at home, but it felt good to be organised. I only took the bottom tier of my bento set, 350ml, which is usually a good representation of the number of calories in the box. I had more sticky rice (really need to get over that!), swiss Baby bel (see previous), mochi (as before) and grapes (again). So nothing very spectacular. But tasty!
I have to go back next week and actually have stuff done and he needs to inject me with stuff, so I might try rice porridge or something then. Nice and bland, mushy and maybe not bad cold.
In crafty related news, I started millinery last night! Yay! Our first hat is a shaped felt and I think I want a noir style reporter hat like Gwyneth Paltrow in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (dull film but great outifts).
Hoping to get back to a routine soon. Changing from working three days (Tues, Thurs, Fri) and school the other two days to school Monday night, working Wed-Fri and then school all Saturday. Two whole days of sleep in during the week! So yes, routine is still being beaten into shape.
March 5, 2009
Cold!
I love winter! I don't remember what clothes I wore last year because I seem to have 1000 tshirts and one cardigan. Very strange. I can't wait til it's even colder and I can dig out my crochet gloves and hat and scarf. I lurve rugging up!
The picture is a little old, from the 26th of Feb, and is the last lunch I've been really happy with photographically. All that nice colour! And that tasty tasty sticky rice I mentioned last time. It DOES freeze well so I really recommend it. I have the last of it today and I'm really feeling the need for the sticky rice comfort food-ness.
I tried out the Lentil Snacks from justbento.com on the weekend and the Boy and I give them a big thumbs down. I'm thinking I did something wrong because everyone on the justbento forum seems to be fans. I found them dry and icky tasting and yesterday just threw them out after one nibble. I was going to suffer through eating the 10 or so in the freezer but now I'm thinking I'll just toss them all. Why suffer through lunch when it's the best bit of my working day? Plus, they used ingredients I already had so were technically free in those terms. It's not like I went out and bought anything specifically for them.
I've been very dull on the eating front this last fortnight except for sticky rice and cupcakes (Basco vanilla cupcakes - gluten free and FANTASTIC! Also freezable! I made a bunch into mini cupcakes YUM). I've been unpacking - still, after finding the boys to be not so great at doing it NOW. Why put it off? Finally got to IKEA and bought something to put my clothes into so that's something. It's mostly done now, hooray!
Also had my last week of classes at the School of Fashion. I definitely passed Pattern Making, with about an 80% I think. Garment Construction I'm pretty certain I passed but am waiting on my last mark. But I'm pretty confident it's at least a pass as my jacket looked completely rocking... many pictures to come once it's back because I am SO proud of it!
In eating out news, if you haven't been to Grill'd, you should TOTALLY go. Not only do they do GREAT chips (completely GF) they also do great burgers! AND now you can have a bun too! Sure, they do a great enough burger that I was never unhappy tucking into what was essentially a salad with a burger on top, but nothing beats picking up a burger in your hands and taking a massive bite, frantically trying to not drip on anything you like and not lose your fillings. I'm not sure what the buns are made of (group speculations believes them to be corn based) but they are very tasty. If you are more sensitive than me, ask then to put the bun on a plate while it's being toasted as they use the one toaster for all breads. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up for the food and the service at Grill'd in Glenferrie Rd Malvern, Chapel St Windsor and QV in the city.
The picture is a little old, from the 26th of Feb, and is the last lunch I've been really happy with photographically. All that nice colour! And that tasty tasty sticky rice I mentioned last time. It DOES freeze well so I really recommend it. I have the last of it today and I'm really feeling the need for the sticky rice comfort food-ness.
I tried out the Lentil Snacks from justbento.com on the weekend and the Boy and I give them a big thumbs down. I'm thinking I did something wrong because everyone on the justbento forum seems to be fans. I found them dry and icky tasting and yesterday just threw them out after one nibble. I was going to suffer through eating the 10 or so in the freezer but now I'm thinking I'll just toss them all. Why suffer through lunch when it's the best bit of my working day? Plus, they used ingredients I already had so were technically free in those terms. It's not like I went out and bought anything specifically for them.
I've been very dull on the eating front this last fortnight except for sticky rice and cupcakes (Basco vanilla cupcakes - gluten free and FANTASTIC! Also freezable! I made a bunch into mini cupcakes YUM). I've been unpacking - still, after finding the boys to be not so great at doing it NOW. Why put it off? Finally got to IKEA and bought something to put my clothes into so that's something. It's mostly done now, hooray!
Also had my last week of classes at the School of Fashion. I definitely passed Pattern Making, with about an 80% I think. Garment Construction I'm pretty certain I passed but am waiting on my last mark. But I'm pretty confident it's at least a pass as my jacket looked completely rocking... many pictures to come once it's back because I am SO proud of it!
In eating out news, if you haven't been to Grill'd, you should TOTALLY go. Not only do they do GREAT chips (completely GF) they also do great burgers! AND now you can have a bun too! Sure, they do a great enough burger that I was never unhappy tucking into what was essentially a salad with a burger on top, but nothing beats picking up a burger in your hands and taking a massive bite, frantically trying to not drip on anything you like and not lose your fillings. I'm not sure what the buns are made of (group speculations believes them to be corn based) but they are very tasty. If you are more sensitive than me, ask then to put the bun on a plate while it's being toasted as they use the one toaster for all breads. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up for the food and the service at Grill'd in Glenferrie Rd Malvern, Chapel St Windsor and QV in the city.
February 25, 2009
Still alive!
I'm still alive, just haven't been up to much that's exciting except unpacking and stuff like that. I did do a asian grocery shop and found..... GF peking duck breast!! *happy dance*
I also made this http://www.grouprecipes.com/55939/savoury-sweet-glutinous-sticky-rice.html, some sticky rice to great success. I have really missed yum cha and this stuff is VERY similar to the stuff normally found wrapped in bamboo leaves. I changed the recipe by not having chinese sausage (wheat gluten curses) and adding some chinese five spice powder (read the label! Two out of three brands had flour in) and YUM! I've got some in the freezer so hopefully it wins the "can it be frozen and then shoved in the bento for lunch" challenge.
Also, in a blatant attempt to promote her site, Not Exactly Bento is having a competion - http://notexactlybento.com/?p=1289. And I'm mentioning it in a blatant attempt to win a bento box because I want a new one. The site is also worth a look if you don't feel hungry and want to get hungry really quick! The mardi gras cake on the competition page? *drool*
I also made this http://www.grouprecipes.com/55939/savoury-sweet-glutinous-sticky-rice.html, some sticky rice to great success. I have really missed yum cha and this stuff is VERY similar to the stuff normally found wrapped in bamboo leaves. I changed the recipe by not having chinese sausage (wheat gluten curses) and adding some chinese five spice powder (read the label! Two out of three brands had flour in) and YUM! I've got some in the freezer so hopefully it wins the "can it be frozen and then shoved in the bento for lunch" challenge.
Also, in a blatant attempt to promote her site, Not Exactly Bento is having a competion - http://notexactlybento.com/?p=1289. And I'm mentioning it in a blatant attempt to win a bento box because I want a new one. The site is also worth a look if you don't feel hungry and want to get hungry really quick! The mardi gras cake on the competition page? *drool*
February 13, 2009
Moving Day Eve
Tomorrow is moving day, which means my bento is kind of sad compared to many in the bento challenge group. Leftover thai red curry and coconut rice (which I love so much I can't be sad it's in my lunch today) along with grapes, cheese and mochi.
When I first got this box that started my bento obsession, I thought that I'd have a much easier time filling the layer with compartments. Not so! While it does limit my snack food love, I find it very hard to eat those snacks because the whole box has to be pulled out to get to them. AND when they're out I have three sections worth of food just sitting there, waiting to be munched. 9 times out of 10 I eat the lot in under 30 minutes for lunch. Which probably isn't so good.
With the bento I make for The Boy, I just use one of my square lock'n'locks, the 800ml I think (about the size of two sandwiches on top of each other). His bento always looks better than mine. Sure everything is lunch, but he works from home at his desk so I think he just leaves it open and munches for an hour or so. I feel weird doing that at work because noone else does. Plus, he can go get a snack from the fridge really easily.
Result of all this thinking? I might get another bento box but I'm TRYING to hold out long enough so I can say it's a birthday present to myself. May is a long time away!
I think I want one like this http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Thermal-Bento-Lunch-box-Usagi-Red-Thermal-9_W0QQitemZ130286992854QQihZ003QQcategoryZ4003QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262 as it's thermal, so I can have hot lunch outside when it's cold. Plus, it has two little containers, so I could take one out for a snack at my desk without feeling like a little piggy. And of course with that bento, the shipping is HUGE so I may as well grab a few other things. Like boiled egg molds since The Boy insists that a bento isn't the same without them. I can take them or leave them. But in a shape they are adorable so I might be more willing to make them _all_ the time. And some food picks to make teeny little kebabs or something with.
I'm really glad I discovered bento. To a scary degree. I'm not embarrassed when I was caught on flickr looking at the bento challenge photo pool by (soon to be) Housemate. I was proud! I love going out with my lunch and having tasty food to picnic with. I enjoy making them and attempting to make them look good. I'm even liking all the vegetables and fruit (yes, I'm 5 and don't eat my veges often) and I'm sure I'll really like the smaller butt that comes with eating them too. I'm glad that The Boy has taken them to his heart too - though possibly that's to placate me. Whatever. He needs to eat better and lose some pudge.
But bottom line there are two things why I heart bento the most:
(1) I'm enjoying food again, the making it, the eating it, the buying it without being a complete sook about not being able to eat gluten.
(2) Saving money is good and the reason I'm saving is environmental! No more throwing out those sad looking veges for the most part.
I am proud of my bento habit. I even make bento when the majority of my house is encased in cardboard, in the middle of a raid (10 man Naxx). Bento!
When I first got this box that started my bento obsession, I thought that I'd have a much easier time filling the layer with compartments. Not so! While it does limit my snack food love, I find it very hard to eat those snacks because the whole box has to be pulled out to get to them. AND when they're out I have three sections worth of food just sitting there, waiting to be munched. 9 times out of 10 I eat the lot in under 30 minutes for lunch. Which probably isn't so good.
With the bento I make for The Boy, I just use one of my square lock'n'locks, the 800ml I think (about the size of two sandwiches on top of each other). His bento always looks better than mine. Sure everything is lunch, but he works from home at his desk so I think he just leaves it open and munches for an hour or so. I feel weird doing that at work because noone else does. Plus, he can go get a snack from the fridge really easily.
Result of all this thinking? I might get another bento box but I'm TRYING to hold out long enough so I can say it's a birthday present to myself. May is a long time away!
I think I want one like this http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Thermal-Bento-Lunch-box-Usagi-Red-Thermal-9_W0QQitemZ130286992854QQihZ003QQcategoryZ4003QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262 as it's thermal, so I can have hot lunch outside when it's cold. Plus, it has two little containers, so I could take one out for a snack at my desk without feeling like a little piggy. And of course with that bento, the shipping is HUGE so I may as well grab a few other things. Like boiled egg molds since The Boy insists that a bento isn't the same without them. I can take them or leave them. But in a shape they are adorable so I might be more willing to make them _all_ the time. And some food picks to make teeny little kebabs or something with.
I'm really glad I discovered bento. To a scary degree. I'm not embarrassed when I was caught on flickr looking at the bento challenge photo pool by (soon to be) Housemate. I was proud! I love going out with my lunch and having tasty food to picnic with. I enjoy making them and attempting to make them look good. I'm even liking all the vegetables and fruit (yes, I'm 5 and don't eat my veges often) and I'm sure I'll really like the smaller butt that comes with eating them too. I'm glad that The Boy has taken them to his heart too - though possibly that's to placate me. Whatever. He needs to eat better and lose some pudge.
But bottom line there are two things why I heart bento the most:
(1) I'm enjoying food again, the making it, the eating it, the buying it without being a complete sook about not being able to eat gluten.
(2) Saving money is good and the reason I'm saving is environmental! No more throwing out those sad looking veges for the most part.
I am proud of my bento habit. I even make bento when the majority of my house is encased in cardboard, in the middle of a raid (10 man Naxx). Bento!
February 12, 2009
Using up all of my rice
I'm moving house in two days and am slowly trying to use up things. Like the last couple of cups of rice in the containers. In the photo you see my first ever fried rice. Conclusion? It's fine. Just some random veges, some bacon, tamari and some garlic. I ate it for lunch and while not disgusted by it, I'm not enthused. I am not a fried rice fan. Though it was really quick and used up stuff.
But my other creation with rice was pretty great, though needs tweaking. I wanted coconut rice, but I'd already made the rice and I'd already eaten dinner. So rice pudding. I googled rice pudding with cooked rice and made a thing inspired by the top two results.
Cooked rice (I used a combo of white and brown), about 1-1.5 cups
Milk - less than a cup
Coconut milk - 165ml (a little tin)
sugar - about 1/3 of a cup (a bit much for me)
Cinnamon
Dried cranberries
First thing ingrediants were put in a pot on a highish temperature until boiling, then reduce to a simmer. Add cinnamon (I would have added nutmeg and a few things if I'd had them) and cranberries. Simmer til thick.
Next time I think I'll either add more milk (I used about a third what most of the recipes did) and possibly add some cream. I had this for breakfast and found it a bit sweet. The Boy had half and found it great, which is weird since he's usually not a sweet fan. It needs more creaminess in my opinion, and maybe instead of sugar while cooking it needs a drizzle of honey or maple syrup when serving instead. But still pretty good!
In the bottom left of the lunch above is some tandoori marinated tofu I found in the supermarket. Yum! I'm not sure if it tasted tandoori but it was still darned tasty. I just plonked it in my frypan until browned and chopped it up. It was very tasty cold in my bento and nice but weird for dinner with hot chips (cleaning out the freezer, I swear!).
But my other creation with rice was pretty great, though needs tweaking. I wanted coconut rice, but I'd already made the rice and I'd already eaten dinner. So rice pudding. I googled rice pudding with cooked rice and made a thing inspired by the top two results.
Cooked rice (I used a combo of white and brown), about 1-1.5 cups
Milk - less than a cup
Coconut milk - 165ml (a little tin)
sugar - about 1/3 of a cup (a bit much for me)
Cinnamon
Dried cranberries
First thing ingrediants were put in a pot on a highish temperature until boiling, then reduce to a simmer. Add cinnamon (I would have added nutmeg and a few things if I'd had them) and cranberries. Simmer til thick.
Next time I think I'll either add more milk (I used about a third what most of the recipes did) and possibly add some cream. I had this for breakfast and found it a bit sweet. The Boy had half and found it great, which is weird since he's usually not a sweet fan. It needs more creaminess in my opinion, and maybe instead of sugar while cooking it needs a drizzle of honey or maple syrup when serving instead. But still pretty good!
In the bottom left of the lunch above is some tandoori marinated tofu I found in the supermarket. Yum! I'm not sure if it tasted tandoori but it was still darned tasty. I just plonked it in my frypan until browned and chopped it up. It was very tasty cold in my bento and nice but weird for dinner with hot chips (cleaning out the freezer, I swear!).
February 5, 2009
Combining my current obsessions
While I love making and eating my bento lunch, I didn't want to feel like a 5 year old walking to the park to eat it everyday. Yes, my bento box has a bag with a handle, but why not paint an L for loser on my head and be done with it? So I made myself a new handbag! Yay! It was soooo quick. The longest part was all the paper cutting making the right size pattern that would fit the essentials - bento, book, wallet, keys, other keys, etc. And now I have a very usable prototype. The pocket on the outside needs work, and I want some sort of top closure, but I'm loving the soft cord fabric.
And since I had a COMMENT! on this blog, which means someone is reading it (which I never realised *wave*) I thought I'd talk about my latest experiment in cooking GF.
Last night I had the cooking urge. I cooked for nearly 2 hours from the moment I came home. Crazy, yes? But it was pretty tasty. Still a work in progress though. I made faux onion bhaji and fried tofu....
All I did was mince a couple of serving spoons of chickpea flour (also known as besam or gram flour) with some salt, pepper and a pinch of cumin with enough water to make a paint like consistency. Mixed in a diced onion and dropped spoons of it into about an inch of oil I'd heated in my wok*.
Result? Tasty if you like raw onion. Which the Boy, the Housemate and I do, luckily. We also thought more flavour would be good so maybe next time I'll fry up the onions in some indian style spices beforehand.
The tofu I just dipped into some chickpea flour and fried in the same oil. I liked it! Needs a dipping sauce of some sort, maybe sweet chilli, but definately not bad at all if I do say so myself.
I have some of each today in my lunchbox so here's hoping it works okay for lunch or I'm spending my last $5 on sushi for lunch.
In GF food news, I am LOVING the Food For Health Gluten Free muesli (http://www.foodforhealth.com.au/). I've had it for two weeks practically every day and I'm not sick of it yet. Lots of seeds though, so you might have to spare some extra attention on your teeth brushing each morning, but well worth it for a GF muesli that's not cardboard (Freedom Foods) or so solid you nearly break a tooth (Whisk and Pin - watch out for those smoked almonds!). I found it at my local Woolworths for about $8.
And since I had a COMMENT! on this blog, which means someone is reading it (which I never realised *wave*) I thought I'd talk about my latest experiment in cooking GF.
Last night I had the cooking urge. I cooked for nearly 2 hours from the moment I came home. Crazy, yes? But it was pretty tasty. Still a work in progress though. I made faux onion bhaji and fried tofu....
All I did was mince a couple of serving spoons of chickpea flour (also known as besam or gram flour) with some salt, pepper and a pinch of cumin with enough water to make a paint like consistency. Mixed in a diced onion and dropped spoons of it into about an inch of oil I'd heated in my wok*.
Result? Tasty if you like raw onion. Which the Boy, the Housemate and I do, luckily. We also thought more flavour would be good so maybe next time I'll fry up the onions in some indian style spices beforehand.
The tofu I just dipped into some chickpea flour and fried in the same oil. I liked it! Needs a dipping sauce of some sort, maybe sweet chilli, but definately not bad at all if I do say so myself.
I have some of each today in my lunchbox so here's hoping it works okay for lunch or I'm spending my last $5 on sushi for lunch.
In GF food news, I am LOVING the Food For Health Gluten Free muesli (http://www.foodforhealth.com.au/). I've had it for two weeks practically every day and I'm not sick of it yet. Lots of seeds though, so you might have to spare some extra attention on your teeth brushing each morning, but well worth it for a GF muesli that's not cardboard (Freedom Foods) or so solid you nearly break a tooth (Whisk and Pin - watch out for those smoked almonds!). I found it at my local Woolworths for about $8.
Combining my current obsessions
While I love making and eating my bento lunch, I didn't want to feel like a 5 year old walking to the park to eat it everyday. Yes, my bento box has a bag with a handle, but why not paint an L for loser on my head and be done with it? So I made myself a new handbag! Yay! It was soooo quick. The longest part was all the paper cutting making the right size pattern that would fit the essentials - bento, book, wallet, keys, other keys, etc. And now I have a very usable prototype. The pocket on the outside needs work, and I want some sort of top closure, but I'm loving the soft cord fabric.
And since I had a COMMENT! on this blog, which means someone is reading it (which I never realised *wave*) I thought I'd talk about my latest experiment in cooking GF.
Last night I had the cooking urge. I cooked for nearly 2 hours from the moment I came home. Crazy, yes? But it was pretty tasty. Still a work in progress though. I made faux onion bhaji and fried tofu....
All I did was mince a couple of serving spoons of chickpea flour (also known as besam or gram flour) with some salt, pepper and a pinch of cumin with enough water to make a paint like consistency. Mixed in a diced onion and dropped spoons of it into about an inch of oil I'd heated in my wok*.
Result? Tasty if you like raw onion. Which the Boy, the Housemate and I do, luckily. We also thought more flavour would be good so maybe next time I'll fry up the onions in some indian style spices beforehand.
The tofu I just dipped into some chickpea flour and fried in the same oil. I liked it! Needs a dipping sauce of some sort, maybe sweet chilli, but definately not bad at all if I do say so myself.
I have some of each today in my lunchbox so here's hoping it works okay for lunch or I'm spending my last $5 on sushi for lunch.
In GF food news, I am LOVING the Food For Health Gluten Free muesli (http://www.foodforhealth.com.au/). I've had it for two weeks practically every day and I'm not sick of it yet. Lots of seeds though, so you might have to spare some extra attention on your teeth brushing each morning, but well worth it for a GF muesli that's not cardboard (Freedom Foods) or so solid you nearly break a tooth (Whisk and Pin - watch out for those smoked almonds!). I found it at my local Woolworths for about $8.
And since I had a COMMENT! on this blog, which means someone is reading it (which I never realised *wave*) I thought I'd talk about my latest experiment in cooking GF.
Last night I had the cooking urge. I cooked for nearly 2 hours from the moment I came home. Crazy, yes? But it was pretty tasty. Still a work in progress though. I made faux onion bhaji and fried tofu....
All I did was mince a couple of serving spoons of chickpea flour (also known as besam or gram flour) with some salt, pepper and a pinch of cumin with enough water to make a paint like consistency. Mixed in a diced onion and dropped spoons of it into about an inch of oil I'd heated in my wok*.
Result? Tasty if you like raw onion. Which the Boy, the Housemate and I do, luckily. We also thought more flavour would be good so maybe next time I'll fry up the onions in some indian style spices beforehand.
The tofu I just dipped into some chickpea flour and fried in the same oil. I liked it! Needs a dipping sauce of some sort, maybe sweet chilli, but definately not bad at all if I do say so myself.
I have some of each today in my lunchbox so here's hoping it works okay for lunch or I'm spending my last $5 on sushi for lunch.
In GF food news, I am LOVING the Food For Health Gluten Free muesli (http://www.foodforhealth.com.au/). I've had it for two weeks practically every day and I'm not sick of it yet. Lots of seeds though, so you might have to spare some extra attention on your teeth brushing each morning, but well worth it for a GF muesli that's not cardboard (Freedom Foods) or so solid you nearly break a tooth (Whisk and Pin - watch out for those smoked almonds!). I found it at my local Woolworths for about $8.
February 3, 2009
020209RBento
This week is the week I started making not just bentos for me, but for The Boy as well! I'm quite excited by this. I love bento-ing and now I have infected him as well!! Plus (don't tell) he could probably stand to lose a few kilos.
As he works mostly from home I'm going to focus on the days he goes to uni but am going to try for every day as he has the bad habit of just grabbing whatever (generally dim sims and microwaving them) for lunch because he can't think of what to have. If he has a lunchbox full of things he has no excuse!
The picture is his first ever bento (made by me at least). Packed with stuff though he said he got rather hungry in the afternoon so he requested more protein to fill him up more. Requests already! AND he completely loved the carrot kinpari from justbento.com which is good because we have a LOT of carrots and there's only so many carrot sticks a girl can eat!!
This weeks challenge from justbento.com was to make a bento for someone else, done! already! But I'm going to continue last week's challenge of pinching those pennies as I just paid bond on my new house (yay moving over the next month!). So I am completely broke until next week. But happily I went shopping on Sunday for the essentials and managed to only spend half of what we normally do!! We will need to grab some more veges at some point due to the supermarket having awful specimens but that'll be pretty cheap. While I won't be able to guarantee new exciting bento for the next little while, as I try to use up all our food before we move (and can't buy much more *g*) I now know that he likes everything pictured above.
The challenge for myself last week was to make a "pretty" bento and I don't think I really made that challenge until today's bento (see flickr stream). It just looks really good to me. The beautiful emerald of the broccoli for one! Never thought I'd say that!
This weeks challenge is to limit the meat in my bentos. I've been going off meat lately for the most part. I ate kangaroo mince happily last night but the mini hamburgers aren't appealing. Ham is okay though, enough that I have some today because I needed a space filler. Crazy, eh? So expect many eggs in my bentos this week! I'm aiming for a tamagoyaki for Thursday because I start later then and don't think it would be good made the night before. But that experiment shall occur soon to if Thursday is successful.
In non-bento news, I am officially enrolled in my Millinery course AND my Couture course for this year. I start in March and *happy dance* it's going to be awesome. I'm glad I have a couple of weeks to get all my supplies! Penny pinching bentos are going to continue for quite awhile I think!
Also, I have a Level 80 Shadow Priest now. I am a nerd!
As he works mostly from home I'm going to focus on the days he goes to uni but am going to try for every day as he has the bad habit of just grabbing whatever (generally dim sims and microwaving them) for lunch because he can't think of what to have. If he has a lunchbox full of things he has no excuse!
The picture is his first ever bento (made by me at least). Packed with stuff though he said he got rather hungry in the afternoon so he requested more protein to fill him up more. Requests already! AND he completely loved the carrot kinpari from justbento.com which is good because we have a LOT of carrots and there's only so many carrot sticks a girl can eat!!
This weeks challenge from justbento.com was to make a bento for someone else, done! already! But I'm going to continue last week's challenge of pinching those pennies as I just paid bond on my new house (yay moving over the next month!). So I am completely broke until next week. But happily I went shopping on Sunday for the essentials and managed to only spend half of what we normally do!! We will need to grab some more veges at some point due to the supermarket having awful specimens but that'll be pretty cheap. While I won't be able to guarantee new exciting bento for the next little while, as I try to use up all our food before we move (and can't buy much more *g*) I now know that he likes everything pictured above.
The challenge for myself last week was to make a "pretty" bento and I don't think I really made that challenge until today's bento (see flickr stream). It just looks really good to me. The beautiful emerald of the broccoli for one! Never thought I'd say that!
This weeks challenge is to limit the meat in my bentos. I've been going off meat lately for the most part. I ate kangaroo mince happily last night but the mini hamburgers aren't appealing. Ham is okay though, enough that I have some today because I needed a space filler. Crazy, eh? So expect many eggs in my bentos this week! I'm aiming for a tamagoyaki for Thursday because I start later then and don't think it would be good made the night before. But that experiment shall occur soon to if Thursday is successful.
In non-bento news, I am officially enrolled in my Millinery course AND my Couture course for this year. I start in March and *happy dance* it's going to be awesome. I'm glad I have a couple of weeks to get all my supplies! Penny pinching bentos are going to continue for quite awhile I think!
Also, I have a Level 80 Shadow Priest now. I am a nerd!
January 27, 2009
Ooops.
So this weekend I helped run a convention. There were long hours and much lifting, running around and generally being busy. Which was unexpected as I wasn't supposed to be in charge... but ended up being very much in charge. The girl (BF's sister) was supposed to manage the food but the moment I arrived she deferred to me in everything and didn't do anything practical except serve people unless I told her specifically to do something (like empty the bins). It was very tiring.
I had planned to be very good and had packed myself two lunches and a very big dinner to bulk out a few snack items. Unfortunately all that got thrown out at the end of the convention as I'd spent the weekend eating not much and what I did eat was gluten filled and bad for me. So my goal of eating much bento failed, but I did organise some at least. So a step in the right direction I suppose.
Today's bento is not really a bento. It's leftovers put in a container with some frozen rice. But I'm very tired and I'm impressed that I remembered to grab anything at all.
This week's goal is to get back into my routine, start getting to the gym more often and rest up because 18 hour days make me tired and there's a big heat wave in Melbourne. Bleh!
I had planned to be very good and had packed myself two lunches and a very big dinner to bulk out a few snack items. Unfortunately all that got thrown out at the end of the convention as I'd spent the weekend eating not much and what I did eat was gluten filled and bad for me. So my goal of eating much bento failed, but I did organise some at least. So a step in the right direction I suppose.
Today's bento is not really a bento. It's leftovers put in a container with some frozen rice. But I'm very tired and I'm impressed that I remembered to grab anything at all.
This week's goal is to get back into my routine, start getting to the gym more often and rest up because 18 hour days make me tired and there's a big heat wave in Melbourne. Bleh!
January 20, 2009
Too hot to live
It's summer. As in, actually hot, sunny and pretty. It's going to be 37C today. Yesterday was about that too. Hot weather doesn't agree with me this year. Generally I suck it up okay, just keep plodding onward daydreaming of gray autumn days but this year no such luck. Bad dreams, broken sleep patterns and today my stomach hates me too. This I blame on summer as well. It feels related to the heat somehow. Insane, but that's what I'm feeling.
This week is the week before Arc (Arcanacon). This is my last year as a helper/organiser and I'm glad that I'm more of an advisor and helper than organiser. Last year I took a week off work and spent the four days of the convention working 18 hour days and eating not much beyond plain potato chips.
This year? I'm bento-ing! Which is kind of scary since it means I'll be bentoing 8 lunches and 4 dinners in a row. I have to make it to next Monday without buying a full meal because I'm challenging myself dammit! Also, I'm broke, but the con would feed me if I wanted. But fragile tummy says grr at gluten and my giant butt says eat more chocolate. But my bento box is lovely and full of mostly healthy things. Hurrah!
I spent the last couple of days doing preparations for the busy time ahead. Not only is all my washing done but I went WAY over my grocery budget knowing that I won't be eating out at all as well as need to eat for two weeks off one shop instead of two. My bentos won't be particularly varied, but they'll be tasty.
Bento-able items that are frozen/prepacked/easy include:
::coconut crackers (GF! made with taro and coconut)
::mochi (red bean and chestnut flavours)
::wasabi peas and roasted broad beans (I've even split them into ziplock bags so I don't eat them all at once)
::rice (frozen in packs as per Lunch in a Box instructions
::chicken hot pot (still haven't made more, this recipe must feed 6 or more, so I froze portions in my new silicon cups and then moved them to a tupperware. I have some today, we'll see how defrosting in my bento box goes)
::mini burgers (Safeway now stock gluten free hamburgers! There's a flavoured one with some zing to it but all they had on the weekend was plain, but they're pretty good. I quartered each and reshaped them into burgers, cooked and then froze them in foil. The Boy intends to steal some while I'm so busy.)
::many grapes and some cherries
::carrot sticks. Boring but necessary for those vegetable needs! I chopped a tonne so I can grab and go. Hopefully this will prevent "I don't have time to eat my vegetables!"
::Dip! Hummus with cashews which sounds interesting. Hopefully it will liven up my carrot sticks and whatever other veges I can find in the crisper.
::Laughing cow cheese wedges and Baby bels. Baby bel swiss cheese in yellow wax! tasty though i think I'll miss the red wax. Red is more fun to play with somehow (yes I am crazy).
::Lasagne. I froze 2 serves of lasagne the other day. Homemade with San Remo pasta sheets, lots of shredded zucchini and spinach. I really recommend the Sam Remo GF pasta range actually, they do need to be stirred while cooking to prevent a big clump (oil in the cooking water doesn't seem to help too much, but a stir or two in the first couple of minutes of cooking does the trick). Best of all, the lasagne sheets are a "normal" size, unlike the only other ones I've seen around by Ogran, which are mini sized and annoying.
So I won't starve. I might be a little bored by Tuesday but hopefully all that snack variety will keep things interesting.
This week is the week before Arc (Arcanacon). This is my last year as a helper/organiser and I'm glad that I'm more of an advisor and helper than organiser. Last year I took a week off work and spent the four days of the convention working 18 hour days and eating not much beyond plain potato chips.
This year? I'm bento-ing! Which is kind of scary since it means I'll be bentoing 8 lunches and 4 dinners in a row. I have to make it to next Monday without buying a full meal because I'm challenging myself dammit! Also, I'm broke, but the con would feed me if I wanted. But fragile tummy says grr at gluten and my giant butt says eat more chocolate. But my bento box is lovely and full of mostly healthy things. Hurrah!
I spent the last couple of days doing preparations for the busy time ahead. Not only is all my washing done but I went WAY over my grocery budget knowing that I won't be eating out at all as well as need to eat for two weeks off one shop instead of two. My bentos won't be particularly varied, but they'll be tasty.
Bento-able items that are frozen/prepacked/easy include:
::coconut crackers (GF! made with taro and coconut)
::mochi (red bean and chestnut flavours)
::wasabi peas and roasted broad beans (I've even split them into ziplock bags so I don't eat them all at once)
::rice (frozen in packs as per Lunch in a Box instructions
::chicken hot pot (still haven't made more, this recipe must feed 6 or more, so I froze portions in my new silicon cups and then moved them to a tupperware. I have some today, we'll see how defrosting in my bento box goes)
::mini burgers (Safeway now stock gluten free hamburgers! There's a flavoured one with some zing to it but all they had on the weekend was plain, but they're pretty good. I quartered each and reshaped them into burgers, cooked and then froze them in foil. The Boy intends to steal some while I'm so busy.)
::many grapes and some cherries
::carrot sticks. Boring but necessary for those vegetable needs! I chopped a tonne so I can grab and go. Hopefully this will prevent "I don't have time to eat my vegetables!"
::Dip! Hummus with cashews which sounds interesting. Hopefully it will liven up my carrot sticks and whatever other veges I can find in the crisper.
::Laughing cow cheese wedges and Baby bels. Baby bel swiss cheese in yellow wax! tasty though i think I'll miss the red wax. Red is more fun to play with somehow (yes I am crazy).
::Lasagne. I froze 2 serves of lasagne the other day. Homemade with San Remo pasta sheets, lots of shredded zucchini and spinach. I really recommend the Sam Remo GF pasta range actually, they do need to be stirred while cooking to prevent a big clump (oil in the cooking water doesn't seem to help too much, but a stir or two in the first couple of minutes of cooking does the trick). Best of all, the lasagne sheets are a "normal" size, unlike the only other ones I've seen around by Ogran, which are mini sized and annoying.
So I won't starve. I might be a little bored by Tuesday but hopefully all that snack variety will keep things interesting.
January 16, 2009
150109bento
Today is the end of my first week of the bento challenge and I think I did pretty well. My bento's weren't pretty in the way they can be traditionally, I have no desire to cutes-ify my lunch. And they were also a little repetitive. When I was eating them I didn't notice, but when I look back on my photos for the week (also getting used to doing that and not feeling like a freak who takes photos of her pre-packed lunch) I think it was a little.
Pictured is yesterdays lunch, which was very tasty. Tasty enough to share even if it was entirely leftovers.
In the divided tier there is the previous days snacks that I didn't want at school as it was uber hot and I was very busy. A slight alteration was the addition of a Laughing Cow cheese which made the mochi move to the other container. Nothing horribly interesting there.
On the bottom tier is dinner leftovers (eaten cold) with some rice, some green beans, mochi and Chicken & Chorizo hotpot the Boy made. OMG is that stuff good!
Recipe can be found at http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Chicken-and-chorizo-hot-pot
Tonight I'm going to freeze some and see how that works.
Pictured is yesterdays lunch, which was very tasty. Tasty enough to share even if it was entirely leftovers.
In the divided tier there is the previous days snacks that I didn't want at school as it was uber hot and I was very busy. A slight alteration was the addition of a Laughing Cow cheese which made the mochi move to the other container. Nothing horribly interesting there.
On the bottom tier is dinner leftovers (eaten cold) with some rice, some green beans, mochi and Chicken & Chorizo hotpot the Boy made. OMG is that stuff good!
Recipe can be found at http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Chicken-and-chorizo-hot-pot
Tonight I'm going to freeze some and see how that works.
January 13, 2009
Bento Challenge
Hello once more, oh blog. I still eat gluten free but have been mostly very boring in the last year or so since I got lazy and stopped posting. I have been inspired lately however by a Bento Challenge from maki of Just Bento so once again I am getting on the blogging wagon to track my progress as well as record any gluten free bento experiments.
My goal/NY resolution for 2009 was to take more care of me. Which sounds simple enough but not the way I intend it. Taking care of me means getting out and seeing people again, keeping my house cleaner (not "cleanclean" but a nice environment to be in), get regular haircuts for once, attempt clothes beyond the jeans/tshirt for school and black pants/shirt for work, lose some weight, eat healthier, exercise, lose my fat wobbly (and hated) upper arms and above all stress less.
Last year was the year of my finally getting some mental health advice and seeing someone regularly for no other reason than I get very worked up over very insignificant things. I don't see them anymore and haven't in months but lately I've found I need to start working on being happy and more carefree again because I'm noticing a downward spiral which is NOT GOOD.
So before Christmas the hair was cut from the long grown out previous cut (a year grown out) and suddenly everyone was saying how good I looked. I've made another appointment and everything.
I made myself some skirts to wear with tshirts to ease into the less jeans idea and some new pink slip on runner style shoes (I walk a LOT, to and from work etc) to wear with them so I can't say "oh but I'd have to wear heels and I'm walking so I can't wear a skirt!" I'm even wearing on today!
I joined the gym at work (hurrah for salary sacrificing!) and am planning to go before work the three days a week I work (Tues/Thurs/Fri). This may change once the university semester starts and the aerobics roster gets changed. I like aerobics and am hoping there are some I'll be able to get to - dance! Please! *fingers crossed*
I got a 2009 diary and am determined to fill it with some social events. I have a party on Friday and a yum cha party on Saturday (both birthdays). Please ignore the fact that yum cha mostly contains gluten. I'm being bad, so there! (Plus, lately I've discovered I can have SOME gluten without getting sick at all. I'm not coeliac after all, just intolerant so this makes sense. I say it does.)
The bento challenge started yesterday but I got in early and had one every day last week as well as stocking my freezer up with some gluten free baked goods as an experiment ->
Mini muffin trays are awesome. I bought one just for the challenge and recommend it to all bakers out there. I like baking and baked goods but if you're the only gluten intolerant person in the house, odds are you'll end up with most of a cake to yourself. Not good for the butt! My first baked experiments were:
Woolworth's brand orange and poppyseed cake mix and Woolworth's brand pizza base mix
The cake I just made as directed and put it into the muffin tray (well greased). Meh. Tasty enough but next time I'll be adding something to give them some more flavour... maybe orange juice instead of some of the water, or some orange rind? They lack oomph but are definately tasty. I also didn't ice them so maybe that would help? Not sure how that would work for freezing though and I'm going to try and avoid extra calories from tasty icing. Be very careful when cooking though... I ended up with burnt bottoms on all of them so watch them like a hawk and don't believe the back of the packet unless you REALLY know your oven.
The pizza mix I've used several times before and liked it. I have often gotten the excess dough and baked it into a "roll" which I always thought was more like a scone. So that's what I did - I made 'scones.' I made these as directed and added half a chopped onion and a handful or so of grated cheese. Oh. My. God! These things are tasty! The onion flavour is not too strong and gives this bite sized scone a nice addition of flavour as I didn't want to add butter or anything. The cheese mostly isn't noticeable but it was probably good to add for extra binding power.
Day 1 Bento 12/01/09
My goal/NY resolution for 2009 was to take more care of me. Which sounds simple enough but not the way I intend it. Taking care of me means getting out and seeing people again, keeping my house cleaner (not "cleanclean" but a nice environment to be in), get regular haircuts for once, attempt clothes beyond the jeans/tshirt for school and black pants/shirt for work, lose some weight, eat healthier, exercise, lose my fat wobbly (and hated) upper arms and above all stress less.
Last year was the year of my finally getting some mental health advice and seeing someone regularly for no other reason than I get very worked up over very insignificant things. I don't see them anymore and haven't in months but lately I've found I need to start working on being happy and more carefree again because I'm noticing a downward spiral which is NOT GOOD.
So before Christmas the hair was cut from the long grown out previous cut (a year grown out) and suddenly everyone was saying how good I looked. I've made another appointment and everything.
I made myself some skirts to wear with tshirts to ease into the less jeans idea and some new pink slip on runner style shoes (I walk a LOT, to and from work etc) to wear with them so I can't say "oh but I'd have to wear heels and I'm walking so I can't wear a skirt!" I'm even wearing on today!
I joined the gym at work (hurrah for salary sacrificing!) and am planning to go before work the three days a week I work (Tues/Thurs/Fri). This may change once the university semester starts and the aerobics roster gets changed. I like aerobics and am hoping there are some I'll be able to get to - dance! Please! *fingers crossed*
I got a 2009 diary and am determined to fill it with some social events. I have a party on Friday and a yum cha party on Saturday (both birthdays). Please ignore the fact that yum cha mostly contains gluten. I'm being bad, so there! (Plus, lately I've discovered I can have SOME gluten without getting sick at all. I'm not coeliac after all, just intolerant so this makes sense. I say it does.)
The bento challenge started yesterday but I got in early and had one every day last week as well as stocking my freezer up with some gluten free baked goods as an experiment ->
Mini muffin trays are awesome. I bought one just for the challenge and recommend it to all bakers out there. I like baking and baked goods but if you're the only gluten intolerant person in the house, odds are you'll end up with most of a cake to yourself. Not good for the butt! My first baked experiments were:
Woolworth's brand orange and poppyseed cake mix and Woolworth's brand pizza base mix
The cake I just made as directed and put it into the muffin tray (well greased). Meh. Tasty enough but next time I'll be adding something to give them some more flavour... maybe orange juice instead of some of the water, or some orange rind? They lack oomph but are definately tasty. I also didn't ice them so maybe that would help? Not sure how that would work for freezing though and I'm going to try and avoid extra calories from tasty icing. Be very careful when cooking though... I ended up with burnt bottoms on all of them so watch them like a hawk and don't believe the back of the packet unless you REALLY know your oven.
The pizza mix I've used several times before and liked it. I have often gotten the excess dough and baked it into a "roll" which I always thought was more like a scone. So that's what I did - I made 'scones.' I made these as directed and added half a chopped onion and a handful or so of grated cheese. Oh. My. God! These things are tasty! The onion flavour is not too strong and gives this bite sized scone a nice addition of flavour as I didn't want to add butter or anything. The cheese mostly isn't noticeable but it was probably good to add for extra binding power.
Day 1 Bento 12/01/09
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